August Wilson

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Lore & Background

August Wilson was born Frederick August Kittel Jr. in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the fourth of six children. His father, Frederick August Kittel Sr., was a Sudeten German immigrant who worked as a baker/pastry cook. His mother, Daisy Wilson, was an African-American woman from North Carolina who cleaned homes for a living. Wilson's mother raised the children alone until he was five in a two-room apartment behind a grocery store at 1727 Bedford Avenue; his father was mostly absent. Wilson later wrote under his mother's surname. The economically depressed neighborhood where he was raised was inhabited predominantly by Black Americans and Jewish and Italian immigrants. Wilson struggled with finding a sense of belonging and did not feel that he truly fit into African-American culture or White culture until later in life. His mother divorced his father and married David Bedford in the 1950s, and the family moved from the Hill District to the then predominantly White working-class neighborhood of Hazelwood, where they encountered racial hostility; bricks were thrown through a window at their new home, and they were soon forced out. Raised Catholic, in 1959 Wilson was one of 14 African-American students at Central Catholic High School but dropped out after one year. He dropped out of Gladstone High School in the 10th grade in 1960 after his teacher accused him of plagiarizing a 20-page paper he wrote on Napoleon I of France. At 16 he began working menial jobs, where he met a wide variety of people on whom some of his later characters were based. Wilson educated himself at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, reading Black writers including Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, and Arna Bontemps. He changed his name to August Wilson to honor his mother after his father's death in 1965. That same year, he discovered the blues as sung by Bessie Smith and bought a stolen typewriter for $10. In 1968, along with his friend Rob Penny, he co-founded the Black Horizon Theater in Pittsburgh. His first play, Recycling, was performed for audiences in small theaters, schools and public housing community centers for 50 cents a ticket.

Reader's Guide

August Wilson's significance lies in his creation of The Pittsburgh Cycle, a series of 10 plays that chronicle the African-American experience in the 20th century. His works Fences (1987) and The Piano Lesson (1990) each won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Other plays in the series include Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984) and Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1988). Wilson's writing explores themes including the systemic and historical exploitation of African Americans, race relations, identity, migration, and racial discrimination. Viola Davis said that Wilson's writing "captures our humor, our vulnerabilities, our tragedies, our trauma. And he humanizes us. And he allows us to talk." Since Wilson's death, three of his plays have been adapted into films: Fences (2016), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020), and The Piano Lesson (2024). Denzel Washington has shepherded the films and has vowed to continue Wilson's legacy by adapting the rest of his plays for a wider audience. Washington said, "the greatest part of what's left of my career is making sure that August is taken care of." Wilson was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2006.

Did You Know?

• Wilson was one of 14 African-American students at Central Catholic High School in 1959 but dropped out after one year.
• He dropped out of Gladstone High School in the 10th grade in 1960 after his teacher accused him of plagiarizing a 20-page paper on Napoleon I of France.
• Wilson bought a stolen typewriter for $10 in 1965, which he often pawned when money was tight.
• His first play, Recycling, was performed for audiences at 50 cents a ticket in small theaters, schools, and public housing community centers.
• Wilson insisted that a Black director be hired for the film adaptation of Fences, saying 'White directors are not qualified for the job.'

Alumnus of a Playwright's Home

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The Building and Its Layers of History

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A Constellation of Fellow Playwrights

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The Broader Ecosystem of Recognition

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